


Hiding in Plain Sight

by Caesar1141



Series: Fae-sight Wars [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Blind Character, Blind!Warriors, Wars is also big bi, Wars's coping mechanism is puns, fae-sight au, fight me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:41:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28774014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caesar1141/pseuds/Caesar1141
Summary: Link gets pulled into a new adventure, surrounded by strangers who he can't trust, Hylia-ordained quest be damned.Wars is blind and refuses to tell anyone.
Series: Fae-sight Wars [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2140347
Comments: 11
Kudos: 84





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Back on my fae-sight kick so here you are <3 Going to try to write a part 2 if I get the motivation

Link had been on his fair share of adventures, jumping through time, military campaigns, they weren’t all Hylia-given but he had seen some stuff, been chucked into haphazard alliances with old enemies and new allies and he had made it work, blind or not. The problem is that he usually had  _ someone  _ he knew, someone he could lean on and trust. That wasn’t the case this time. No, instead he was surrounded by heavily armed strangers on a new quest to break the timeline. But who was he to refuse Hylia, he was just a captain.

He’s certain that Zelda would refuse, she was always head-strong. Lana maybe? No, she’d be too busy bombarding the new heroes with questions to even consider going on an adventure. Or she might just jump through the portal herself, it was hard to say.

Proxi might? Or she would at least drag him along. That would make this enjoyable if he had a set of eyes to him out.

Link was so lost in thought that he wasn’t paying attention to his feet as he tripped on a random root and into the back of one of his new companions.

“What the hell? Watch where you’re going, Wars,” they cried, pushing him away and onto the ground. Sounded like veteran, he was still learning everyone’s names and voices.

He muttered a quick “sorry” as he dusted himself off, reaching for his fire staff and readjusting his sunglasses.

“You might be able to walk if you didn’t wear those glasses all the time,” he said with a chuckle.

“Probably,” he called back, forcing a smile. That wasn’t going to happen. No way in hell was he going to show off the scarred mess that used to be his eyes to a bunch of strangers. Most of the soldiers back home don’t have to know so these people don’t need to know either. He had enough experiences with traitors and backstabbers to know not to advertise a weakness.

He couldn’t make up for everything though, especially without a fairy so he still swung his fire staff back and forth along the ground, the glass orb providing a feeling for roots and rocks. If anyone asked, he’d tell them part of the truth, he didn’t want to have to look at the ground. “There’s not a whole lot to look at on the ground, is there?” Something like that.

He sighed. There was a fine line between concealing weakness and being an idiot. He just hoped he didn’t cross it.

So they walked and he listened. Bird song, a cluttered mess of footsteps, scrapping of metal on metal, jingle of chainmail. The air was warm and smelled thick with pine. Link could almost pretend he was out on a patrol or something. Link walked in the middle of the pack, trying to take catalogue of everyone, making sure no one had disappeared, making sure no one was going to strike.

There was the tall one in plate armor who spoke with a gruff voice. Heavily armed and heavily armored, would be hard to beat him in a straight fight. At least he wasn’t quiet so stealth would probably work.

Then there was the one who smelled of wet dogs and had apparently worked on a farm. Had the strength of a ranch hand to back that story up. He seemed friendly enough though, loyal. 

Then there was the champion, the one passing out food whenever the mood struck him. There was no sound of clattering equipment, no change in step to show that he was wearing anything heavy. It seemed unlikely that a hero would go on an adventure like this unarmed. That was an unknown. Something potentially dangerous.

The snarky veteran that dragged his feet, the constantly clink of rings and jewelry nagging at him every time he moved. The air around him tingled with magic, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Despite that, he still carried around items. He’d probably need to separate him from those if need be. 

There was the traveler who seemed to vanish, Link never knew where they were or even had the faintest idea about what their? Her? Deal was. They barely talked, didn’t give a hint of their location and it hurt. It put him on guard. Maybe fire would be the best solution. Simple solution for a hard problem.

He stood there for a bit, a decent bit away from the rest of the group, hand hovering over the fire staff. He counted  five distinct noises and was trying to locate the rest when there was someone small next to him, brushing against his tunic. He pulled away with a surprised yelp, hand tightening around his weapon.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten ya.” The blacksmith. He smelled perpetually of a forge. He had to be covered in grime. “I was just wondering why you where those glasses all the time, they seem to be of pretty high quality”

“Leave me alone.” Short, curt, to the point. No room for argument.

“It’s not that hard a question, I’m just curious!”

Link paused for a moment. “I just like wearing them, they make me look cool,” he deadpanned before stiffly posing like a model would.

Four chuckled. “You got me there but like even at night? Isn’t that dangerous?”

He chuckled nervously before leaning in to whisper, “It’s a secret but if you really must know, my eyes shoot lasers that kill anything instantly.”

That earned him a punch in the arm and he couldn’t help laughing at Four calling him “an off-brand eye-beam!” 

“Come on, be ser-,” he yelled as someone new popped into the conversation.

“What's an eye-beam?”

“It’s a monster-tower thing that spins around and shoots lasers at you,” Legend answered.

“Wait? So like a legless Guardian? Why do your Guardians not have legs!?” Wild cried, stomping his feet.

“What in Hylia’s name is a Guardian?!!”

Link simply frowned, pulling back even further from the group, content to just listen to the commotion and be ignored.

He felt the air warm around him and his staff was hitting less bump and obstacles. The soft forest floor was replaced with packed dirt. A road, meaning he wouldn’t have to worry about low hanging branches.

The road they were taking didn’t seem all that well-traveled, the dirt was loose, shifting beneath his feet, maybe it was some back road but still there was the occasional passing someone on horseback, maybe hearing a monster scuttle behind a tree. Nice little breaks in the monotony but everyone was getting tired. They were hoping to get to some nearby town before a portal scooped them up, restock their supplies, maybe sleep in an actual bed if they were lucky but this was the traveler’s time and based on how he talked about it, they might actually need some luck. The way he talked about it, it sounded like a war zone.

They  eventually had to stop as the sun’s warmth started to fade and the night’s chill set in. Link was happy for the rest, even his feet were killing him and his wrist wasn’t doing him any favours, sore from swinging around the heavy fire staff around. If he had any foresight or any sight for that matter, he would have thought to bring along his actual cane but he had been a bit shell shocked by the idea of a new quest that he just forgot. Turning around wasn’t really an option  either.

He laid out his bed roll, claiming his own little space at the edge of the clearing and took off his bag to take stock of everything he had. He didn’t need the stress of someone accidentally kicking something out of place or having to deal with the stress of navigating a mess of sleeping bodies.

He had managed to avoid watch this time, that was going to be a chore to figure out.

After he took a sip of his red potion to patch up the cuts and bruises he had collected throughout the day from bumping into stuff, he started counting. 48 arrows, 15 small bombs, 6 frost arrows. He felt the ridges on his potion bottles, little indications of the contents. 3 red potions, 10 green potions, 1 purple.  _ Why did I pack 10 green potions?? I never use them,  _ he thought as he went about polishing his sword before the anxiety set in and he was forced to recount. 48 arrows, 15 small bombs, 6 frost arrows. 3 red potions, 10 green potions, 1 purple. Nothing had changed. There was still all the sentimental junk he lugged around too. Good.

As he went back to polishing his sword, he heard the soft sound of footsteps stop in front of him. Link glanced up, unsure of where their face would be so he had to be satisfied with their general direction. 

“Hey Wars, what’s this,” Sky asked softly followed by the clink of metal.

“What’s what,” he said looking back down at his sword. He’d need a description.

“This little purple medal.” More jingling. “Did you win in a battle or something,” Sky asked curiously.

Then it clicked. “Put that down,” he snapped, eyes wide, holding out his hand. He couldn’t have Sky putting it down in the wrong place and losing it.

“Sorry, didn’t mean anything by it, just wanted to know what it was,” Sky said, placing the medal in Link’s hand as he walked off in a huff. That didn’t matter though, he had his medal back.

Link’s face furrowed in thought. He didn’t want to lose anything, ever. “Hey everyone,” he practically shouted, “Assume everything I own will melt your face off if you touch it. And if you  _ absolutely have to _ , tell me!” 

‘Good, I have some ground rules set,’ he thought at the tired mumbles of agreement, running his fingers along the carved metal, feeling the raised dots on the back.

“To the friend who taught me how to see.”

He chuckled, Zelda always had a strange sense of humor. He wished she were here right now, a friend would be nice right about now.

He began to pack his things, everything going into its proper place, easy to find without needing to search for minutes for a potion when he needed it. His medal got wrapped in its scrap of cloth and placed safely in its pouch.

Everything was right and he could finally sleep. Or at least try to. He realized he hadn’t eaten despite the faint smell of food and smoke. No one had told him food was ready or was even being prepared. Or maybe they had, he had been too caught up in his counting to notice. Even if he weren’t starving, his sleep schedule had been wrecked for forever now, being unable to see the sun would do that but he usually had someone to give him the time. He sighed, he was an idiot. Potential traitors or not, he shouldn’t push everyone so far away. He should still keep them at a safe distance but outside of crossbow range was probably too far. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

He eventually got some rest, had to have had, the night flew by too fast. He froze when he heard the quiet clattering of metal, the sizzling of flesh. A sneak attack. He jolted up, fumbling for his weapon. Then he paused. There was humming. What enemy hummed during a sneak attack? He tried to still his pounding heart, deep breath. March time, 2 3 4 1 2 3 4. He’s safe for the moment. The air smelled of bacon and eggs. Someone was cooking, not someone cooking.

It sounded like only one person was up, maybe it was still dark? He didn’t know what time it was but his system was still flooded with adrenaline, he wasn’t going to get any more sleep, despite how exhausted he was.

He moved to get up, packing up his bed roll and putting it in its place with the rest of his things. Everything was where it belonged, one less thing to keep track of, he thought as he moved to make his way to the fire, lightly sweeping the ground in front of him with his feet, freezing whenever he brushed against something, listening for the loud snoring of the other heroes. He probably looked a bit mad but he could brush it off as brain fog and he didn’t want to risk waking someone up and raising an alarm for nothing.

After maybe 5 minutes, he made it the 15 feet to the fire pit and made himself comfortable around the small flames, shaking away the night chill, hoping he’s far enough away to not be in the way of the mystery chef. 

He sat and listened, trying to figure out who it was based on footsteps and sound and smell but he had nothing. It wasn’t the heavily armed Time or the tiny sailor but that’s all he could get.

He sighed, defeated. “I’m sorry, still trying to remember everyone’s names but what are you called again?”   
“You can call m’ Wild,” the chef chuckled, a clear smile audible in his voice and peppy step. It was too early for this.

‘Keep your enemies closer.’ He turned his head towards the sizzling pot, breathing in the scent of cooking meat and vegetables. He was still hungry. “This smells amazing! I didn’t know you could cook?”

“Really,” Wild said surprised, “I cooked dinner last night, didn’t ya notice?” Link flinched. He had messed up, he hadn’t been paying attention, he should have been more observant. “Hey, while you’re here, could ya give the fire a boost?”

Link’s ears perked up at that. “Sure, tell me when to stop,” he said, aiming his staff at the fire and pouring as steady a stream of magic into it as he could, the sort he would use to light a torch.

“A bit more, a bit m- STOP!” and Link immediately cut off the flow of magic, grinning with satisfaction.

“Hey, you’re real good at that! Most of the time I can only get one or two fireballs out of those things before they explode in my face,” Wild said absent-mindedly, returning to his cooking.

Link chuckled. “I’ve got lots of practice. I used to be the one in charge of managing the huge fire pits we had while in the kingdom’s outskirts. And wait? Exploded?!”

“Yup,” he said with a smile, “ain’t too good at magic. Now tell me about these fire pits.” That grin sounded dangerous.

“Well I’m captain of the Royal Guard, protecting the princess when she travels to visit towns and such. Let me tell you, you’d think she would be the one causing problems but no, usually the soldiers are the ones making a mess, daring each other to jump over the fire pits. Can’t tell you how many times we had to chuck someone into a river.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a handful. I remember my Zelda-,” Wild started. Then he stopped moving, a wooden spoon hitting the edge of a pot before clattering to the ground, his breathing slowed.

“Wild? You ok?,” Link asked. No response. “Oi, Chef?” Nothing. He sat there for a moment, frozen in time, listening for anything, the rustle of fabric in case he was using sign. 

Link moved, grabbing Wild by the shoulder, feeling Wild’s ice cold skin coated in sweat and then Wild’s legs gave out, Link fumbling to catch him. Not knowing what else to do, he pulled him away from the fire, away from anything that he could hurt himself on. He started struggling to open up his red potion when Wild started gasping for air and coughing.

“Chef! Oh Hylia, you nearly gave me a heart attack, are you ok? Do you need a potion,” Link asked, gripping Wild’s shoulder like he was going to float away.

All he got was a hmph as Wild pulled away, prying Link’s hand away, going to try to salvage what was left of the breakfast. Then a quiet “sorry”.

This wasn’t how he wanted to start the day. “No need to apologize, just need to know you’re going to be fine. Can’t have you having.. Whatever that was? While in a fight.”

“Yeah, I’m good, just remembering things.” 

Link sighed, he wasn’t going to get anything else out of him. This was going to be a bad day, he thought as he listened to the others wake up to the smell of burning food, grumbling about ruined food. Only Hyrule seemed happy about it. They didn’t seem to have high standards for food and would be easy to poison.

After the bombed breakfast, it took everyone an hour for them to pack up and they were  _ so slow.  _ It hurt Link’s soul, they were losing daylight and it was so frustrating! He tried to busy himself with fixing his hair, cleaning his things and when that didn’t help the time fly any faster, he started pulling at his skin and rearranging his scarf, making sure it didn’t show off any of his scars. He couldn’t hide them all, the cuts and burns on his cheeks being the main ones but he still fought his hair and glasses to cover them up as much as possible.

And then when they finally get going somewhere? The “Traveler” got them lost. He heard him messing with the map while he sat on the side of the road, picking at the grass, feeling the occasional insect crawl up his hand. Wild was climbing a tree, sounding much more like himself, that was good. That was predictable. Then there was the strange wolf that he had named “Wolfie”, real creative naming right there. It had snuck up on him and scared the living daylights out of him. Wild had to jump up to explain and try to calm him down. The one bright side was that it? He? Wore a shackle that rang like a bell so there was something to distinguish him by.

“Hey Warriors, what’s that sign say,” Hyrule asked.

It took Link a moment to realize that that was him. He wasn’t used to his new nickname or being asked to read things. There were many things he could do without sight. Reading was not one of them. “Read it yourself,” Link brushed it off, hoping it would be left at that.

“I can’t read, please,” Hyrule pleaded.

“I’m illiterate,” he blurted out. Crap, he had to commit.

“What does that mean?”

“Can’t read either. Not a word,” Link muttered, nervously plucking at the grass, maybe it would hold some answers. 

“Aren’t you a high ranking military officer? How do you not know how to read,” the snarky one, Legend, laughed, “I didn’t realize that the Royal Guard being incompetent was a constant throughout the timeline.”

“Take that back,” Link snapped, eye twitching in anger.

“What? You’re telling me that I shouldn’t laugh at the fact that the captain of the royal guard being unable to read isn’t a sign of incompetence? Please! Oh, and Hyrule? The sign says “Saria”,” he said, a smirk clear in his voice.

Link stood there, seething. Those men were the bravest and best soldiers he had ever met, he was proud to call himself their leader, despite all their flaws, they were good men and to have their names being dragged through the mud. That asshole didn’t know what he was talking about and he had the gall to insult them? Link was tugging at his scarf, trying to calm himself down. They were men who were willing to lay down their lives for king and country and this man was here insulting them. Deep breath. Link pushed down his anger, just like he always did. It wouldn’t do well to explode.

Keep walking, keep going, one foot in front of the other in time with his swinging fire staff. 1 2 3 4. No matter how much he tried to push it down, it was still playing in the back of his mind. The military was a huge part of his life and have some idiot insult it like that, not knowing what he was talking about? He wanted to scream. The only thing that pulled him out of his own head was the little electrical tingle from his glasses. There was a fairy nearby.

He turned to make his way to her, she wasn’t moving, she could be hurt. He didn’t stop to bother with explaining to the confused heroes. As he got closer, he looked through her eyes, trying to get a better idea for where she was, and was blindsided by the eye-searing colors of fairy vision like always. The headache hit almost immediately but it was nice to be able to see again.

“Hey there,” he said, watching himself kneel down from behind a leaf. He could see the eyesore that was his traveling companions just behind him, magic items blazing like the sun, mumbling something that didn’t matter. “Are you hurt?” he asked as softly and gently as he could.

She shook her head and Link had to stabilize himself to keep himself grounded in direct contrast to what he was seeing. “I’m hiding from monsters,” she whispered before confidently slid deeper into the foliage.

“Well I’m not a monster? I just want to make sure you’re ok. What are you doing all the way out here on your own,” Link asked, shifting so that he could properly sit.

“None of your business,” she huffed, turning away, revealing a tiny fairy pack. So she was traveling?

“Well if you’re sure, I guess me and my  _ traveling  _ companions will be on our way, nice meeting you,” Link said, making a move to get up and leave.

“Wait! You’re traveling? I’m traveling, going to the nearby fairy fountain. Mind if I hitch a rid- I mean, accompany you,” she called as she fluttered into his face before diving under his scarf, not even waiting for a response. “Too slow, I’m coming with.”

Link chuckled. She reminded him of Proxi. “Fair enough,” he said as he started walking again, “I’m Li-Warriors.”

“Name’s Razz. You better not expect me to patch you up, ain’t part of the deal,” she said.

Link smiled. Who would have thought, the day got better. First time for everything.

And then Legend talked. “Oi what was that about, Mr. Illiterate Captain? You got a new friend or something.”

“She’s just catching a ride, nothing special. Noticed her on the side of the road and I wanted to make sure she was ok.” It was the truth, just half a truth. Eyesight was a definite plus.

“Yeah but how did you know she was there? Fairies are the sort of thing that you just know are there.” Was that genuine curiosity? It was a nice change from the insults.

Link smiled. “Not only am I a chick magnet, I’m also a fairy magnet,” he said, swishing his scarf around and twirling his fire staff like a baton, letting tiny sparks fly out.

Razz yanked on his ear and he yelped in pain. Yeah he deserved that, it was a bad joke. He muttered a quick “sorry” as he rubbed his sore ear with a chuckle. He could see faces, he could see body language.

Some things hit him more than others. Legend was shorter than he expected and not only that, he had pink hair. Twilight actually smiled and relaxed despite the stiff way he walked. Chef was covered in scars, way more than he thought. Hyrule and Wind were strangely expressive, it almost made him mad that he was missing out on it.

He could feel the smile on his face stretching, he might be able to watch the sunset, that would be nice. He could even take watch and just listen and look and observe. He wouldn’t want to keep Razz up though, that would be cruel. Maybe he could volunteer for the first watch? He’d have to run that by her, this was a partnership after all, an informal one but a partnership nonetheless. She had only signed up to travel with them, it would be unfair to ask much else.

Razz moved from his scarf to the top of his head, playing with his hair, head darting up at the tiniest of noises. It made him think of soldiers from right off the battlefield, a bundle of nerves with legs. He started humming a little march as hoping to calm her down a bit.he switched off his ability to be swallowed by the nothingness again.

“Your hair is a mess,” she tutted, yanking at some strands.

Link chuckled, shaking his head a bit as she hovered above. “Well if it’s that messy, leave it be? You aren’t obligated to do anything, just keep an eye out for trouble.”

“Nope. This is too big a problem to ignore. When was the last time you took a shower, seriously?”

Link hummed in response, before freezing. Something big was moving up ahead. Could be a traveler or a caravan but based on how Hyrule had described his world, it was just as likely to be trouble.

The wolf started to growl, its haunches bristling. Definitely trouble. He turned slowly, raising his fire staff to face a threat, surveying his surroundings for anything else. Nothing, only thundering hoofbeats up ahead and horrible screeching. A failed ambush then.

Link pulled back to the rear of the group as explosions shook the ground in front of him, letting Razz dart from his head to a safe distance overhead before looking through her eyes once more. He didn’t need vertigo in the middle of a fight and he didn’t need her getting hurt.

There was a huge horde of monsters rampaging down the road, all poorly armed but the heroes were grossly outnumbered. Not only that, there were huge beasts on the left and right flanks with the body of a monstrous horse with the burly torso of a man with a lion’s head jutting out from where the horse’s neck should be. Their manes and face gleamed with magic as flames spewed out of their nostrils as they galloped by, swords at the ready. No one was trying to stop them, they were too busy dealing with the frontal assault.

As he shot streams of fire at any monster that got too close, he realized what was going on, the tactic obvious from his vantage point in the sky. “IT’S AN ENCIRCLEMENT,” he yelled over the chaos of the battle, shooting a wall of flames in the things’ paths that they charged through without a second thought. “WHO HERE KNOWS HOW TO DEAL WITH THOSE THINGS!’

Immediately, Wild, Hyrule, and Legend broke away from the front, charging to the back. “Hyrule, you stay up front, keep the frontal assault from advancing,” he ordered, memories and experience from previous battles rushing forth.

Cut. Duck. Block. Burn. There was a rhythm to the whole affair. Keep to the back, covering the side flanks in case some of the small fry tried to slip past. Even if those horse things got around, he wasn’t going to let the prong attack follow. There was the occasional annoyance, a particularly strong thing with a cloud of black magic hanging around it. Nothing he couldn’t handle but certainly an anomaly. He tried to make an effort to calm them out when he saw them.

Twilight had appeared out of nowhere and alternating between cutting and tossing foes, only minimal injuries. Sky was to the very front, almost surrounded by monsters, he was holding his own but barely. Link let loose a pillar of fire in his direction, trying to get some of the pressure off of him. Time charged into the opening, clearing away anything that wasn’t burned to a crisp. Link paused for just a moment. That fighting style was familiar but he was almost certain he had never met Time until a week ago. A problem for another day, he thought, smacking a stray keese with the end of his staff.

Suddenly, he felt a new pinprick of magic, completely separate from Razz who was still hovering overhead, calling out warnings to everyone below, darting back and forth to avoid stray arrows and even holding her own against a keese. No, this one was a lot weaker, almost like she was on the brink of death. Pulling back from the fight for a moment, he switched his sight to the new fairy and was immediately hit by how blurry and dull everything was. This wasn’t the overwhelmingly bright vision of a fairy, this was closer in color to what he used to be able to see. It was low to the ground, red blobs of color moving and surrounding her. A glint of silver caught his attention. A sword? Eyebrows furrowing in confusion, he was pulled out of his thoughts by the hiss of a lizalfos to his right.

He pulled his sword up to block the strike as the lizard retreated to strike again like a snake would. He was ready this time, dodging to the side of the pouncing lizalfos, using it’s battle cry as a sound cue, before spinning around to lodge his sword in its back. He used the fire staff in his other hand to create another barricade so the flank couldn’t close.

Looking through Razz’s eyes once more, he was happy to see Wild and Legend working together to take out the last of the horse monster. The main powerhouses were taken out of the fight, the rest of them should be a wipe.

They spent the next 15 minutes scattering what remained of the ambush, most retreating into the surrounding fields and tree line, diving into hidden burrows. At least these things had some self preservation instincts.

It would be a waste of life to keep fighting, he thought, collapsing to the ground from exhaustion. He had overexerted his magic and his muscles, finally feeling blood from all the little nicks and cuts as the adrenaline faded. Just as he was about to pass out, he felt the warm glow of fairy magic as his skin stitched itself back together. Razz couldn’t do that, she would have to go back to the last fountain, losing all her progress. He reached out a hand to swat her away only be met with a hylian’s hand, crackling with magic.

“Oh Hylia, you’re ok?” Hyrule gasped.

All he could do was groan in response as he pulled himself off the ground. “Is everyone else ok?”

“Minor injuries, nothing time and potions won’t fix. Just saw you collapse, thought you were going to die,” Hyrule sobbed. Pinpricks of water hit Link’s hand and Link froze. Hyrule was crying for him?

“I’m fine,” Link said, forcing himself to sit up as he readjusted his scarf. He sat there for just a moment before standing up again, leaning on his fire staff for support as Razz landed on his head again. “Sorry for making you worry,” he said with a smile.

They set up an impromptu camp a little ways ahead, wanting to get away from the blood and battle. A quick checkup, make sure no one was seriously injured, take a couple quick sips of red potions, and just rest. Wild passed out food, just like he always did. Link just held his sandwich for a moment before handing it off to Hyrule. He needed it more based on the sound of him wolfing down his first one.

Link laughed as he chugged a green potion. 9 left.  _ What do you know, I actually did need it,  _ he thought, feeling the energy return, the dull ache of exhaustion leaving him. That was fun, it had been a while since he got to fight in a battle like that, usually he was in the commander’s tent, directing troops, making strategies. He could get used to this.

Everyone was panting and laughing and bragging about how many monsters they had taken down, Razz was back to try and fix his hair, mumbling something about how all her work was ruined. He couldn’t stop from flaring up with pride with Legend begrudgingly complimented his fighting or the laughter when someone made a dumb joke.

It reminded him of the barracks after a victory, everything scattered about and moved, a death trap. He usually had to have someone guide him back to his bunk, he thought with a chuckle but that joy died in his throat. No one here was going to do that.

He sighed and took a nap, hoping the next day would be better.

\----<Scene Change>\----

Two days later, they were finally at Saria and by Hylia was it good to see civilization again after wandering in the wilderness for a week. No more having to worry about monster ambushes, no more worrying about the Traveler getting them lost, no more stupid low hanging tree branches to smack him in the face. 

Hyrule had left the group when they first got to town, saying he had to visit a friend or something and would meet them back at the inn for lunch so Link was happy to stick around and wait while the others went shopping for supplies. He had done what he needed, telling them what they needed and providing funds. He had the rest of the day to relax.

Link leaned back in his chair, happy to just listen to the chatter of the passersby drifting through the window, the racket of the inn. The quiet babble of the nearby river filling in the rare moments of quiet. Razz was flying around somewhere, exploring, talking to people, maybe hitting some poor kid with a toothpick. That would be a sight.

He sat across the table from Time and Wind, a menu in hand but unable to read it with Razz not being there and all. Just as he was about to signal her over, there was a gasp from the other side of the table, Link flinching in surprise as the menu was snatched from his grip.

“Sorry about that Wars, forgot you couldn’t read,” Wind said apologetically, as he began reading out the options.

Link opened his mouth to protest, he was perfectly capable of figuring it out himself when he remembered what he had said a couple days prior. He clamped his mouth shut, muttered “Thanks,” and tried to swallow the bad taste in his mouth. If he needed help, he would have asked.

Wind was back to reading through the menu while Link died a little inside with each item. After about a minute or two of him not responding, Wind stopped, “Does any of that sound good to you, Wars?”

He sighed. “You mentioned mac n’ cheese? That sounds fine,” he said, trying not to come off as anything but grateful and failing miserably. He was being helped just the whole thing felt wrong.

“So a mac n’ cheese, a kid’s meal, and potato soup,” Time asked, armor shifting as he moved to wave someone over.

“I can’t believe you’re getting the kid’s meal, old timer,” Link chuckled, “You sure you can get a happy plate?”

Link didn’t need to be able to see to know that Time was glaring at him, only making him laugh harder.

“The kid’s meal is for Wind.”

“I don’t need a kid’s meal,” Wind complained, slamming his hands on the table.

“Shut up, Problem Child,” Link ordered, using his commander voice.

As Wind continued to fume, Time just sat there, the stare making the hair on the back of his neck tingle, like he had just said that scorpions glowed blue (to him they did but that was irrelevant).

“Hey waiter, mind replacing that kid’s meal with grilled fish,” Wind called, settling back down and starting to chatter.

They sat and waited, talking about whatever while their food was being prepared. What they were going to do tomorrow, some silly story, just something to pass the time. Link sat there, content to throw his hat into the ring, telling ridiculous tales like that time he was almost killed by a cucco or that time he almost got engaged to bokoblin in a drunken bet.

“Hey, have I told you the story about that time I impersonated the princess for a week? It was crazy, you’d have to  _ see  _ it to believe it!” Link laughed, no one else did. Crap. “I’m sorry, it’s a bit of an inside joke, forget I said anything,” he said, biting his tongue. He was such an idiot.

He shut up for a bit after that, listening to Wind tell his own tall tales until he realized something was missing.

“Where’s Hyrule,” he asked. No response, not even the sound of breathing. “I’m going to go looking for him,” Link said, standing up and signalling for Razz to follow him out.

As he walked out into the sun, feeling the warmth on his skin, he paused. He had no idea where Hyrule could be. Why did he think this was a good idea? It wasn’t like he was back home where he knew the streets like the back of his hand.  _ Idiot, idiot, idiot.  _ He just started walking, swinging his fire staff back and forth, back and forth, trying to figure out what he was going to do.

“Hey, Razz, I need you to fly up high and keep and eye out for Hyrule, the curly haired one. Can you do that for me?”

“Sure captain, only if I get free rein of your food when we get back to the inn. I haven’t eaten all day, you big dumb dumb,” she said, fluttering in front of him.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’ll even buy you your own platter, whatever you want,” he said as he collided with someone.

“I’m sor-”

“Watch where you’re going, you rat!” Deep, loud, angry.

“Can do,” Link huffed, rushing away, hugging the wall, trying to listen out for anyone in his way as Razz flew into the sky. Link took in the view and finally got a proper sense for the layout and size of the town. It was a small river town, only a couple buildings at most with a river splitting it in half. There was only one bridge and there was a huge commotion.

Suddenly, Razz dived and Link could feel his feet falling out from under him as his vision tail spinned before he could look away. At least now he had a road map and he started speed walking, hand tracing the walls of buildings to keep himself grounded, being slowed down by the inability to dodge the random boxes and obstacles. One building, two buildings, a right, then Razz was back and he broke out into a proper run.

He got to the bridge and there was Hyrule, yelling, the clashing of steel. A squealing moblin and a swarm of keese were slashing at him, pulling away before he could counterattack.

Link didn’t pause, he just charged, glaring through Razz’s eyes from high above the battlefield, ducking and dodging the swooping bats until he got to the traveler.

He grabbed him by the back of his tunic, ignoring the thrashing and yelps as he pulled him to the ground, smacking the moblin away. “Close your eyes,” he shouted, pouring magic into his fire staff as he twirled it over his head, creating a cocoon of flames and heat. He stood there for a moment, mesmerized. He could see it, all low and blurry but he could see it. It circled them like a writhing snake, the skin of the monsters and the bridge alike being charred. He could feel the heat through his tunic, hear the crackling and screams of monsters. It was familiar but then it was gone.

Link was heaving, sweat dripping down his brow, and there was Hyrule there to catch him. “Hey Traveler, you ok? I didn’t burn you, did I?” He could still see the blurry shapes but then they blinked and there was nothingness.

“Am I ok? Are you ok, Captain? What the hell are you doing here?” Link could feel him pulling at his glasses. His hand shot up to yank him away by the wrist.

“-m fine. And I just had a hunch.” He was too tired to try and keep up the farce for now, too tired to try and find where Hyrule’s face would be. “I smell blood. Yours?”

“N-no, I’m not hurt,” Hyrule stuttered, “It’s probably monster blood, they like to ambush me wherever I go.”

“You’re lying. Saw you getting attacked, gonna patch you back up at the inn,” he said, pulling himself to his feet and moving back to the inn.

“Wars? Are you ok? Even I know that’s not the right way,” Hyrule called after Link had already made his way to the end of the bridge.

Oh. Idiot.

Link turned around and let Hyrule lead him back, leaning on his shoulder, claiming he was tired. They eventually made their way back to the tavern but the scheduled eating time had long since passed, he couldn’t bring himself to eat.

“Sorry for being late, got a bit caught up talking to my friend,” Hyrule said as he bandaged up his and Link’s cuts.

“Some friend,” Time grumbled.

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wars talking to Four

The rest of the day was fairly quiet, the others had gone off to do their own thing and he could rest in peace. He went up to the room they had rented in the local inn and went through his usual routine as Razz darted around the room, the electric tingle in his glasses moving to match her position. He was tempted to take them off but that wouldn’t feel right, he’d feel exposed.

With a sigh, he continued with his routine. Check his inventory, take note of what needed to be restocked. He only had 9 nine green potions left. Link paused, turning the number over in his head. Was nine a good number? Nine was three threes and three was a good number so did it cancel out or make it better? Three threes, three threes. He sat there on the floor for what felt like an eternity, unable to even think of anything else as he tossed the empty bottle from earlier back and forth between his hands. Then he decided that nine was a good number.

That crisis solved, he continued on with his routine. Next was polishing his sword, the one he rarely used because it was too much of a hassle to figure out proper swordplay when he could just burn down an entire battalion. Link set to work, washing away the monster blood and ash that had stuck to it from the day’s previous battles. He really should try to use his sword more; he could have hurt Hyrule if he had lost control of his magic.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He froze, gripping the handle tight in preparation for a fight. He turned to face the intruder as the door squeaked open. “Hello? Who is it?”

“I am called Nobody,” someone said calmly, the hint of a smile in their voice.

“Hello Nobody,” Link said as Four closed the door behind him. Link relaxed his grip on his blade.

“Hey Wars, sorry if I’m bothering you but I’ve got a favour to ask.”

Link took a breath as he went back to cleaning his equipment. “Depends. How much will I get for hiding the body?”

Four stopped moving. He was to his left, maybe 5 paces. “Wait? What body?!”

“Oh nobody,” he deadpanned.

Link tried to hold a straight face but he couldn’t take it; he doubled over in laughter, his sword clattering to the floor. He was still wheezing as he continued “Sorry, I had to. Uh what do you need?”

“In that fight the other day, my tunic got slashed up and I, uh, saw that you had a little sewing kit and was wondering if you could patch it up for me,” Four said followed by the jostling of fabric.

Link held his hand, needing to get a proper feel for what the damage was before he could agree to anything. When Four finally handed it over, Link marveled at how heavy it was, it felt like someone had stuffed the thing with lead. It was rough, all the different sections being made of a slightly different material. It was strange and it got worse when he looked through Razz’s eyes. All the colors were dull with little distinction between them, all muddled shades of brown, only broken up by embroidery that glowed a too bright gold. As he turned it over in his hands, he found the cut Four had mentioned. A huge slash on the side, another across the shoulder blades. Four was lucky to even be alive. 

“Alright then, give me a second,” he said, reaching into his bag to pull his sewing kit from its designated spot, “Pick which color you want me to use,” he said, gesturing to the rainbow of colored threads he had collected, all of them labeled with their actual color. Fairy eyes had a tendency to screw with colors, he had figured that out the time he had asked a friend why the rat hiding under their shared bunk was bright green.

“What? Why,” Four asked, confused, as he settled down next to him, Link hearing the clattering of wood as he toyed with the bobbins of thread. Link felt Razz taking the opportunity to settle herself on top of Four’s head with a hum.

“It’s your tunic, you’re the one who’s going to be wearing it, you should pick,” Razz said as Link started using straight pins to hold the torn pieces of fabric together.

A minute later, Four handed him a spool, the raised label saying it was yellow. “This one good?”

“Fine by me. Now do you want the stitches to be visible? Because I can do a hidden stitch if you want,” Link said as he handed a needle and thread to Razz. “Mind threading this for me?”

That got him an annoyed huff as he felt her fly closer to practically snatch the needle away before jabbing him in the finger. Link yelped in surprise, shaking the pain away. “There was no need for that!”

“Oh I’m sorry, it was an accident,” she said, her voice so sugary sweet it could rot a tooth.

Four piped up, exasperated. “If you could make the thread not show, what was the point of picking a color!”

“ _ Color  _ me impressed,” Link said. “You actually do have a brain!” Smack. Link rubbed the back of his head, mumbling about traitors. “Everyone’s abusing me today, aren’t they? And as for why, I just thought it would be fun,” he said with a smirk as Razz handed the threaded needle back to him. “It’s like a little secret. No fun if you give it away.”

As Link started to sew, he heard Four shift his weight moving to hover over his shoulder. He felt his breath against his ear and he stiffened. Four could stab him in the back at any moment, he was too close.

He yelped in pain as he pricked his finger, probably drawing blood. “I can’t focus if you hover over me like that,” he snapped. “Do you want this tunic covered in blood?” He reached around to grab him by the tunic, yanking him back to his side.

“Sorry,” Four muttered. “I don’t want to just sit here doing nothing though, watching you is the next best thing.”

“You can just not be here, I’m not holding you hostage or anything,” Link said, trying to undo his ruined stitches while Razz was mock-fencing with one of his needles. Her form was good. “You could leave?”

“I don’t have anything else to do. Everyone’s out on the town or whatever. Too loud for me, I figured I’d hang out with Warriors, the local mystery” Four said as he laid back on the floor.

“Fair enough,” Link mumbled. “Fine, we can talk or whatever. Do you have any fun stories to tell?”

Four fell silent for a moment, the sound of bobbins clattering and Razz’s humming being the only real noise in the room. He would have to reorganize them, Link thought in annoyance. No respect for other people’s stuff.

“What about the fact that one of my favorite pastimes is breaking into Hyrule Castle?”

Link scoffed at that. “How are you not dead or rotting in some dungeon? Hell, how do you even get in there in the first place,” he exclaimed, throwing down the tunic, his task forgotten. “I swear, if I ever meet those guards, I’m going to whip them into shape, letting a little ki-”

Four smacked him on the back of the head with a growl. “Not a kid, and as for how, it’s a secret to everyone.” Link didn’t need to see to know that Four had an impish grin plastered on his face.

Link paused for a moment, readjusting his glasses before picking up the tunic again, feeling around for the needle. “A secret, huh,” he asked somberly, the air in the room shifted. “Hey Four, this is going to be a delicate topic, I’ll have to  _ thread this needle _ ,” Link said with a chuckle, “but can secrets be a good thing?”

Razz stopped humming, the temperature dropped another degree. "Secrets can be fine until they get someone hurt," Four said as Link heard him fiddling with his bobbins once more. "Sometimes secrets can keep people safe, other times they're neutral. You just have to use your better judgement, ask yourself if you trust these people," he said with a sad smile. "Why do you ask?" 

Link looked down at his work, not sure how to control his face. “No reason.”

Four sighed. “You’re a horrible liar, Captain.”

“Thanks, I try,” Link forced a chuckle, moving to start on the slash on the back. “Did you ever get this injury treated? I doubt that you could have kept this sort of thing hidden.”

“Of course I got it treated,” Four exclaimed. “I’m not an idiot, wounds that big would kill me in about...an hour max. I’ve got people waiting for me back home, it wouldn’t be ideal for me to die over something dumb like hiding an injury.”

“So do you have a lady back home,” he asked curiously with a wink, forgetting that Four couldn’t see his eyes.

There was a long pause. “Wars, what the hell? Do you mean a girlfriend?”.

“Yeah, do you have a girlfriend? Or maybe some maid in the castle who has a crush on you? Only thing that I can think of for you to have ‘breaking into Hyrule Castle’ as a pastime.”

Four burst out laughing, unable to speak for a solid minute while Link sat there shocked. He finally managed to wheeze out a “no” before doubling over in laughter again.

“Hmmm guess I’m not as observant as I thought,” Link said.

“No, no you’re not, though you’re pretty good for someone who can’t see,” Four chuckled light-heartedly.

Link stopped what he was doing. “How did you know?” Link muttered, hand drifting to his sword that was still on the ground next to him.

Four sighed. “No need for that Captain, I’m not going to tell anyone.” A laugh. “You’re really good at hiding it, you have practice or something?”

Link nodded stiffly. He hadn’t heard Four move, he was still sitting, same place as before. He glanced through Razz’s eyes, unable to settle his nerves and just like his relaxed voice suggested, Four was facing him, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. He didn’t even shift when Link slowly picked up his sword.

“What about you, Captain, you got a “lady back home”? We gonna end up in your time and have some lass jumping into your arms?” Four asked nonchalantly.

When he didn’t answer, Four grumbled. "Wars, I’m going to grab your shoulder, ok?” He still didn’t answer. “Fine, no touch then. Look, I don’t know why you want to keep this a secret but you want to keep it and I’ll respect that, I have plenty of things I want to keep private. No one else needs to know as long as it doesn’t start to hurt someone. If you want, we can both just forget this whole conversation.”

Link didn’t know what to think. He turned Four’s words over in his head for a good minute. He trusted Four, he  _ knew  _ that he wasn’t going to hurt him, but he had said that about so many people in the past. He was scared. He took a deep breath. “It’s a lad, actually and chances are, he’ll be the one catching me.”

There was a short laugh and then silence but it was a peaceful sort. Link finished stitching up Four’s tunic, sending him on his way before finally getting to continue his routines. His equipment still had to be cleaned, the sewing kit had to be organized and everything had to be packed up again. And as he laid in bed that night, listening to the noise coming from the tavern below, he came to a conclusion. I trust them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya know, this was suppose to be only 2 chapters but then I got frustrated with how long part 2 was taking so time to break it up even more *wheeze*


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is fic is so much longer than I expected and I realized that it's easier for me to just post smaller segments when I can or I will bog myself down with how much I want to write for this but this has been fun so far, it's been a real learning experience for longer pieces.

He woke to a high-pitched screaming, the noise stabbing into his skull. Link jerked awake in a panic, grasping for the dagger he kept on the side table, struggling to get his bearings as the fatigue left his system. He couldn’t find his dagger so he swung his fist, only to be met with empty air.

“Finally, you’re up,” Razz tutted. “Are you going to sleep all day? We’ve got places to be, things to do!”

Link groaned, one hand massaging the scars covering his face while the other groped around for his sunglasses. He paused when he couldn’t find them where they were the night before, on the rickety bedside table. He couldn’t lose something now, he couldn’t have such a bad start to the day.

“You’re such a pain, you blind dumbass,” Razz shouted in his ear, chucking his glasses into his face. “You’re wasting time!”

“I’m going, I’m going, I’m going,” he mumbled, swatting her away as he reached for his glasses, ready to get his day started. He threw on his boots and scarf, twisting it around his neck three times, same as always. He didn’t want the world to end if he didn’t. He tossed his pack over his back, grabbed his fire staff and then he was out the door, making his way down to the dining area.

As he walked to the bar, he realized the room was almost dead quiet, the only sound the humming of a barkeep and some groans of exhausted men. There were even any birds chirping yet. “Razz. What time is it,” he asked annoyed, turning to look at the fairy.

“5 in the morning,” she chirped. “The sun isn’t even up yet.”

Link groaned as he sat at the bar, feeling the adrenaline from being rushed out the door, and crashed onto the counter. “Eat shit and live.”

Razz plopped down on his open hand with a cackle. “You’ve been dragging me all over the map for days, I think I’m allowed to mess with you a bit.”

Link winced as she started picking at his scars. “I haven’t been dragging you anywhere, you agreed to help me and I agreed to help you get to your fairy fountain.”

“Yeah, and you and your friends have been getting lost for a week,” she yelled, poking him with each word, “at this point we could be walking in the opposite direction!” 

Link yawned, rubbing the sleep away. “Ok fine, fine, fine, you want me to get you there? Get me a map,” he slurred, before suddenly having Razz pulling at his ear, forcing him to turn.

“I thought you’d never ask, follow me sleepy head!”

Razz guided him to a map in the corner, a piece of parchment that had an old texture to it, rough and fragile. He glanced through Razz’s eyes and was surprised to see how detailed it was, all the writing clear, no guessing or strangely straight borders. High-quality. He hummed, tracing his fingers along the roads, gnawing on some crackers to push away the slight hunger pains. 

More people started to wake up and began milling about the room, getting ready to start their day. The smell of food cooking filled the air as the room filled with the heat of fires. They chattered and stepped and talked and made noise. Link started pulling on his ear to tune it out, he needed to focus on memorizing the map, all the roads, their twists and turns. It wasn’t raised, so he had to rely on Razz’s eyes and even with her full cooperation, it was a pain. Fae-sight was disorientating and made him sick if he used it for too long. Like the creeping nausea from being on a ship in rough waters. It was not a fun experience and the only thing that kept him steady was his firm grip on the table and determination. Then someone grabbed him by the shoulder and shook.

Link yelped, twisting around in a panic at the unexpected touch.

“Woah there Captain,” Twilight said, letting go of his shoulder, scratching at his head with a sorry smile. “I didn’t mean to startle ya,” he chuckled.

Link froze, his mind taking a moment to come down from the fright. “Give me a warning next time,” he muttered with a smirk.

“I tried to, all but yelled in your ear but you just kept staring at that map,” Twi said, moving to his side to lean over the map, eyes scanning the paper. Link couldn’t stop the ping of jealousy at how easy it looked for him. “Did you at least find anything interesting?”

“Yup,” Razz said, Link cutting off their connection as soon as she started moving. “We’re working out a route to my fairy fountain. Little Linkie here was just doing the honors of charting it all out.”

“Fairy fountain, huh? Did you get anyone else’s approval on this or were you planning to just go off on your own?” Twi asked with a chuckle.

Link paused, mentally slapping himself. The thought had never even occurred to him. “No.”

Twilight hummed for a moment. “Alrighty then, I’ll pitch it to the others, get everyone on board with getting back on the road.” He paused. “Least we could do for your fairy friend and how she’s helped ya.”

Link paused. What did Twi know? He reconnected with Razz, only to find that she was twirling and dancing about. He gagged, cutting it off again, simply listening to Twi’s heavy footsteps get softer. He steeled himself, so what if Twi knew? He trusted him, Twi was safe. Link forced a smile. “Looks like you might get your wish, Razz.”

Eventually all the heroes were up and ready, taking forever, same as they always did. Link had gone back to memorizing the map, tuning into the world around him to find Twi going from person to person, talking for a moment, getting everyone on board with the idea, at least until they had a majority of their little party to agree. Link sighed, he knew how important it was to have good rapport with his team, he had enough experience with odd allies to have that lesson hammered home. He was paying for failing to apply that now, he thought with a chuckle. Twi would be a good substitute for now.

“Hey, Wars, are you ready to go,” Sky asked with a smile, his hair was an absolute mess like he had just rolled out of bed but here he was, looking like the sun would never set. His cheer was contagious, Link couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on his face.

They were off, Link swinging his fire staff back and forth, feeling the crunch of gravel under his feet. Four walked at his side, telling him stories about the things around him, going on long rambles about trees and lumber mill construction before cutting himself off, repeating whatever he had been talking about but instead of it being a 5 page long essay, shortening it to a single sentence. Other times he would tell stories, Four’s favorite was the one about how he snuck into the castle by piling 3 friends into a trenchcoat. He told that story over and over again but each time was different, different tone, different inflection, different details. It almost didn’t feel like it was the same person talking.

Occasionally, Four would suddenly grab him by the arm and yank him to the side to avoid a low-hanging branch or rock. It was appreciated but he’d have to get onto him for the force later. Link wasn’t deaf or dumb, a simple tug at his tunic would be enough, a verbal warning would be better. Still, it would be nice to not be treating bruises and scrapes at the end of the day.

Link did his best to keep track of the route, every turn they did and didn’t take. He had to fight Hyrule about directions at some point but he couldn’t stand to spend anymore days lost in the wilderness. They had a goal, they needed to be efficient in reaching it if they didn’t want to be scooped up by a portal and have to abandon that goal.

Every now and again, he would glance through Razz’s eyes, performing a head count. One, two, three, f- Eight. He tripped on air, grasping onto Four’s shoulder for support with an iron grip.

“You ok?” Four hissed into his ear as Link got his feet back under him. 

“Where’s Twilight,” he asked, feeling his heart stutter as he used Razz’s eyes to count over and over again. Still eight.

“I’m sure he’s fine, Wars, no need to stress,” Four said gently and Link couldn’t get the mental image of the slashes he had sewn up the day before, the gashes stitched up with a bright orange practically glowing compared to the muted tones of his tunic. “He’ll show up again in a bit, he’ll be fine.”

He tried to calm himself. Four was right, Twilight disappeared all the time; he always came back, he was always fine. But that didn’t help. His mind started to spiral, his breathing became uneven until something big and fluffy brushed against his leg. He jumped until he heard the jingle of a shackle. “Hey, Wolfie,” he said, reaching down to pet the huge beast. “You’re a sneaky thing for something so big,” he said with a chuckle.

A light growl. “I swear, that farm boy has no sense for other people, constantly wandering off on his own. He could go missing or get hurt and we wouldn’t know a thing,” Link mumbled, continuing to pet the strange wolf as he calmed himself down.

They walked some more, Hyrule once again trying to take a wrong turn, Link doing his best to correct it. Razz backed him up, arguing that she knew the area best, it’s her fairy fountain. They trusted Razz.

Twilight still hadn’t shown up by the time they stopped for lunch and no one seemed to care. Even Wolfie had disappeared but they all ate like they didn’t have a care in the world.

He ate quickly, doing one last head count, still eight, only Twi was missing. “Thanks for the food,” he said, standing up to grab his fire staff. “I’m going on a walk,” he explained before setting off into the woods, the chatter fading behind him.

Link took a deep breath and expanded his fae-sight, rapidly cycling through the eyes of the forest in search of Twilight or Wolfie or anything. He could feel the nausea rise up as he took shaky breaths, leaning against a tree for support. He didn’t know where he was as he lost himself in the flashing colors and shifting perspectives. Then he saw it. Wolfie happily wandering about, Twilight’s sword in his mouth.

He gasped, disconnecting from the fairy. She was to his immediate south and Link started walking, weaving through trees and obstacles, only paying attention to the world directly in front of him until he came to a clearing.

There was a jingling in front of him and Link raised his fire staff, adrenaline flooding his veins before his brain could catch up to the situation. He glanced through Razz’s eyes and there was Twi, staring at him like a deer in a hunter’s sight, sword in hand. “Twi?”

“Wars, I’m sorry, I can-” Twi started, panic in his voice.

Link exploded. “I’ve been worrying my head off about you, you just up and disappear for _hours,_ telling no one about where you were going and,” Link didn’t know what else to say, he screamed in frustration. Taking a heaving breath, he managed to force out “Hurry up, Wild made lunch” before turning around and beginning to walk.

Link heard him stuttering behind him, signalling for Razz to look at him. He didn’t look hurt, there was no blood. He was walking well enough. Twi was safe, he didn’t appear to be in pain and that’s all that mattered at the moment.

“You ain’t gonna tell anyone,” Twi finally managed to spit out, making Link pause.

“I don’t _see_ what there is to tell, Twi, now come on, I got myself lost looking for you,” Link said, pulling Twilight in front of him and shoving him forward, following him all the way back to camp, happy to give his brain a break.

They made it back to camp, Twi mumbling out apologizes as Link leaned on the ground, facing the sky, taking in the warmth of the sun while everyone finished their food and packed up.

“Hey Wars, doesn’t that make your eyes hurt, staring up at the sun,” Time asked, standing over him.

“Sunglasses, Old Man, sunglasses,” he mumbled, allowing himself to rest until someone nudged with a foot, signaling it was time to get up and get on the road again.

They walked for the rest of the day, Twi walking closely to him. Link didn’t mind, holding his hand as he stared through Razz’s eyes, taking in the scenery. Muted greens with glowing flowers and animals hiding away. Whenever she glanced at the heroes, it was like looking at a fire, bright, shifting pools of magic. It was pretty. He chuckled when he noticed the way that Time almost skipped. 

At some point, he started humming a tune, a little nothing ditty, surprised when Twi picked it up, tutting out a drum beat. Then the song spread until you had 9 heavily armed men, singing their hearts out as they wandered through the wilderness. That kept up until the sun set and they had to stop for the day. They should be at the fairy fountain by the next day.

They were sitting around a campfire, Link setting up his area as far away from the others as usual, Razz had gone off on her own, he didn’t mind, she had her own life. Maybe she would get to the fairy fountain on her own, he thought with a chuckle as he took stock of all his items. He had even asked Four if he could take stock of his stuff, he wanted to make sure Four had all the items he needed. Four had said no but it had been the respectful sort and Link tried to take it in stride. He would just have to pack extra the next time they were in a town as a safety precaution.

The smell of burning wood filled the air, it was calming. It reminded him of nights patrolling the city walls and camping under the stars with his comrades. There was even the sound of whittling as Sky chipped away at a stick. It was nice. He’d have to ask Sky to let him hold his carvings so he could get a proper appreciation for his work. Based on how the others talked about it, he sounded like he was good at it. It was also something that didn’t require sight to do, maybe he could ask for lessons.

“So how did your adventure start, Old Man,” he piped up. He hadn’t heard him talk about his adventure all the much. Didn’t know much besides he owned a ranch. At least the others knew he was a military captain, that was more info than “ranch owner”

“I fell into a hole.”

A chorus of angry grumbles and groans. That wasn’t a proper answer! and so on.

“What? It was a hole-y mission, how else would it start?”

The chorus hit a crescendo.

“Look, who wants to go next? The old guy isn’t going to give us a straight answer any time tonight,” Legend said with a huff as he leaned back on something.

“Any _Time_.”

“I SWEAR TO NAYRU!”

Link got a wicked sort of grin on his face.

“Hey Time, remember the other day when we _nayru_ -ly avoided that ambush?”

“What are you talking about, Wars? We _din_ -molished them!”

“Oh yeah, good point. No one could match our divine _Farore._

The camp filled with cackling as Link packed up his items, shifting himself closer to the fire, to the group with a smile. He flinched as someone small with poofy hair leaned on him. Hyrule.

“All of you are awful,” Wind screeched, “Please tell me one of you has a serious story about how your adventure started!”

“More believable than having your sister snatched up by a bird the size of a mountain,” Legend snarked.

“That actually happened! Warriors, what about you, you wanna tell us about your adventure’s act 1?”

Link chuckled, a bit startled. “Sure, give me a second,” he said with a genuine smile, trying to calculate the least amount of information he could give without being suspicious. “I was a trainee for the royal guard, doing basic exercises when the city got attacked, it was time to put those lessons into practice. It was a surprise attack, we didn’t have time to prepare,” he said with a grand gesture, trying not to shift Hyrule too much.

“I charged into battle against direct orders, slashing up monsters, felling the horde in a flurry of strikes. I could see the medals, hear them clicking as I walked through the city when this was all over. Link, greatest soldier of the century. I even had a competition going on with one of my friends,” he said, his face falling as he remembered what came next. “Of course, that sort of pride has to be nipped in the bud. I had to be taken down a notch. So I charged to a strong point, an abandoned fort to the north. There was an enemy knight and we fought.” He knew his hands were shaking but he felt like he had to finish the story. 

“I lost,” he said, his voice cracking. He remembered the fire surrounding him. “My commander saved my life and then I saved her when my piece of the triforce activated,” he said, tapping his hand, the one not covered in burn scars. 

He didn’t realize he was crying until Hyrule hugged him tightly, pulling his head into his shoulder, trying to take his glasses off to wipe away the tears. Link pulled away, using his scarf to pat his face dry. “I’m fine. Just- Just bad memories.”

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He didn’t need to continue, he had reached an ending. He knew that they probably wouldn’t push him on the matter. Probably.

“And now I’m here,” he said, forcing a smile. “One of Hylia’s chosen heroes!”

Eerie silence. Just the crackling of the fire. Then Wild spoke up, “Damn, that sounds awesome! I’ve seen you fight, I was wondering where you picked up that weird fighting style and all the strategy knowledge! I didn’t know you actually served in the military!”

Link paused, dumbfounded. “Did you think I call myself Captain just because I like the word?”

Mumbles of agreement met him.

“I can’t believe this,” he yelled, pushing his own emotions down as he fell backwards, scaring the life out of Hyrule with the movement. “To think! To have my name dragged through the mud, to have my legacy disrespected like this! Whatever shall I do now but disappear into the history books!”

“Thinking you’re worthy of being put in the books,” Legend snarked.

Link grabbed his fire staff, aiming it at the campfire and forced it to flare up. “I’ll burn your bones!”

“And they’ll never find yours.”

“Come on you two! If you’re going to argue, do it in the morning when we can get away,” Four yelled.

“Yeah, it’s time to go to sleep. Wars, you have first watch this time around.”

Everyone cheered and Link groaned. He’d have to take watch and he was not about to track Razz down and keep her awake for how many extra hours. Fairies needed their beauty sleep. _I guess I’m doing this blind,_ he thought as everyone tucked themselves in for the night. Link sat himself at the fire, pouring magic into the fire when it got too cold, ears twitching at every little noise.

As he listened to Twi's snoring that could wake the dead, he heard something jingle and he felt a switch flip in his brain. Twilight was Wolfie. He forgot about watch, his mind consumed with the fact the Twi had probably eaten someone's boots before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> puns


End file.
